On Tuesday and Wednesday, the local schools competed in the 1st Region Tournament, with Apollo’s girls’ team and Daviess County’s boys’ team finishing as runners-up and advancing to the KHSAA State Tournament.
Seeded third and receiving a first-round bye, the E-Gals defeated Bowling Green 3-0 in the second round before knocking off reigning state champion Graves County 3-1. In the finals, Apollo fell to McCracken County 3-1.
Apollo’s boys’ team entered as the second seed and eliminated Barren County 3-1 in the Sweet 16 before losing to Christian County 3-2 in the Elite Eight.
Achilles Koller and O’Bryan competed in the Unified Team Tournament and were eliminated in the second round.
In the girls’ individual tournament, Addison Wells (18th), Gracie Brown (15th) and Raleigh Shelton (14th) all finished in the top 20, while O’Bryan placed second and advanced to the State Singles Tournament. For the boys’ individual tournament, Kaden Brown led the way with a 13th-place finish.
The Panthers were seeded fifth in the team tournament and defeated Owensboro Catholic 3-0 in their opening match. They followed this up with a 3-1 win over host Warren East in the Elite Eight, before sweeping top-seeded McCracken County 3-0. Daviess County ran out of steam in the finals, falling 3-0 to Greenwood.
Brandon Hall (16th), Kason Smith (22nd), Jaxson Unsel (31st), and Evan Onstott (35th) competed in the boys’ individual tournament, while Fayth Brown (32nd) and Daphne Edwards (40th) represented the Lady Panthers in the girls’ tournament.
“The entire coaching staff is very proud of the effort put forward by our athletes this week,” Daviess County girls head coach Casey Carroll said. “They battled hard and produced a very good outcome. We’re excited to see what the boys’ varsity team will do at state on Monday.”
Owensboro’s boys’ team fell to South Warren in the Sweet 16, while the girls entered two teams. The A team defeated South Warren before losing to Henderson County’s A team in the Elite Eight. The Lady Devils’ B team was eliminated in the Sweet 16 by eventual runner-up McCracken County.
The Red Devils were represented in the boys’ individual tournament by Dathan Hinton (11th), Xavier Coomes (19th), Josue Santiago (50th), and Jayden Bartlett (52nd), while the Lady Devils were led by Elizabeth Marshall (36th), Zoey Douglas (37th), Bristol Hall (38th), and Emily Cooper (39th).
Owensboro had three duos compete in the Unified Team Tournament. Summer Sutherlin and Jayden Bartlett were eliminated in the Sweet 16, while Trey Douglas and Xavier Coomes fell in the Elite Eight. Collin Hamilton and Dathan Hinton, seeded second, were eliminated in the semifinals.
“I’m so proud of all our bowlers. They all did a great job,” Owensboro head coach Regina Christensen said. “This season was full of ups and downs, but the team handled it well. We had a lot of new bowlers come in, and they are learning, growing and showing great progress. Xavier, Collin and Dathan will be graduating this year, and we wish them the best as they continue their education in college. They will be missed.”
Owensboro Catholic’s boys’ team lost in their first match to Daviess County, while in the Unified Team Tournament, their lone duo was seeded 10th and lost in their opening match to Greenwood’s B team. In the boys’ and girls’ individual tournaments, the Aces were led by John Pfeifer (59th), Dalton Conder (64th), and Tyler Blandford (66th), while the Lady Aces were represented by Olivia Offill (22nd), Maddie Keesler (41st), and Sofia Wimsatt (54th).
The KHSAA State Tournament is set for next Monday and Tuesday.
